Thank you, 2020 Annual Meeting Program Committee

It’s Volunteer Week and AOCS would like to recognize the dedication and service of the Program Committee who worked so hard to put together our Annual Meeting, regardless of the unfortunate circumstances that resulted in this year’s cancellation.

Their service all began last year as the committee first gathered input from Division members during Program Committee meetings and finalized this input before the 2019 Annual Meeting concluded in St. Louis.

The summer was spent identifying Session Chairs as well as writing session summaries and organizing in preparation for the fall, when Session Chairs were dedicated to raising money, inviting speakers, and maintaining communication.

By winter, the Program Committee was conferencing with session chairs, keeping Julie May, AOCS’s Meetings Content Manager, busy with updates and program refinements, while meeting the many deadlines that help keep the Annual Meeting on track.

Then, came March, the beginning of spring and, unfortunately, the emergence of COVID-19 as a global pandemic, which turned our world upside down. With this development, the AOCS Governing Board faced and made a difficult decision to cancel the 2020 Annual Meeting.

While the decision was admirable for the safety of all who would have attended, the disappointment is no less valid, given all the time, hard work, and dedication the 2020 Annual Meeting Program Committee poured into planning. So, AOCS would like to take today to recognize their contributions to the community and the Annual Meeting.

Without further ado, here are the many Program Committee members we want to thank for their hard work and dedication this past year:

Program Chair

Eric (Rick) Theiner, Evonik Industries, USA, Annual Meeting General Program Chair

Division Vice Chairs

Pierluigi Delmonte, US Food and Drug Administration, USA, Analytical Division Vice Chair

Long (Joe) Zou, Bunge Creative Solutions Center, USA, Biotechnology Division Vice Chair

Kaustuv Bhattacharya, DuPont Nutrition & Health, Denmark, Edible Applications Technology Division Vice Chair

Matt Miller, Cawthron Institute, New Zealand, Health and Nutrition Division Vice Chair

Eric Cochran, Iowa State University, USA, Industrial Oil Products Division Vice Chair

Xiaoqing (Nora) Yang, Kalsec, Inc., USA, Lipid Oxidation and Quality Division Vice Chair

Ozan Ciftci, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA, Phospholipid Division Vice Chair

Usha Thiyam-Hollaender, University of Manitoba, Canada, Processing Division Vice Chair

Chibuike Udenigwe, University of Ottawa, Canada, Protein and Co-Products Division Vice Chair

Keith Genco, Arkema, Inc., USA, Surfactants and Detergents Division Vice Chair

Annual Meeting Program Committee members are the Vice Chairs of each of the 10 AOCS Divisions. Division Executive Steering Committees work closely with the Division Vice Chair to support them in finding volunteers, building an impactful session with the right mix and expertise of presenters, making decisions on invited speaker funding and more.   

For every Annual Meeting, over 100 session chairs are needed to organize technical sessions in support of the Program Committee’s work. If you are interested in serving in this role for the 2021 Annual Meeting, complete this form and choose “Technical Programming.” Please note, preference is given to current AOCS members, so make sure your membership and Division memberships are up to-date.